Next Step

The babies have fallen behind so we may stop for 20 to 40 minutes and hopefully they will pair up. You must "hold" the cows in place usually around a water source (note the two cowboys in the distanc in the holding pattern). The trick is not to let them walk past the water source and once some of them have had a sip of water they may decide its time to move on and we have to keep holding them in place. There is an art to all this - you can't crowd them and they've got to have enough room to find their babies. As they pair up it gets quieter but of course not all of them pair up. More to follow..

Babies Falling Behind......

You may be thinking what cute babies and yes they are but this situation with the babies falling behind their mommas can become a recipe for disaster. Inevitable this happens because the mommas walk faster. As one baby gets nervous, like anything else they will "feed" off each other and more of them will become nervous. Then that one baby will decide I need to go back and find my momma. Calves will go back to the place they last sucked. You try to keep the calves pushed up in the herd and hope their mommas will come back for them and they will pair up. This day all went well and no calves turned back. Tomorrow I'll share another tip when it comes to moving pairs - I am a big believer in knowledge for everyone!